Tag Archives: Fields Today

By Chris Henry
chenry@kitsapsun
SOUTH KITSAP
Heading into playoff season with a 9-0 record, the South Kitsap
Wolves football team would seem to have nothing standing in their
way. But Coach D.J. Sigurdson says the grass field at Joe Knowles
Stadium, looking these days like a mud bath, is selling the players
and other South Kitsap athletes short.
South Kitsap is one of fewer than a dozen 4A schools in the state
that hasn’t already converted to turf fields. Sigurdson says it’s
time.
Coaches raised concerns about shortcomings of the field and other
district athletic facilities during recent contract negotiations,
said Ron Ness, president of the South Kitsap Coaches
Association.
“Safety is an issue and making sure we can provide adequate
resources for our athletes and the community,” said Ness.
With cuts to South Kitsap School District’s budget this year
totaling $6.8 million, no one who uses the fields expects the
district will ask voters to approve a capital facilities bond in
the near future. So a facilities task force, made up of coaches,
maintenance staff and community members, has taken matters into its
own hands. They are seeking outside funding for a turf field and
more.
At a meeting Monday, the group came up with a lengthy wish list,
including upgrades to tracks and ball fields at the junior high and
elementary schools, improvements and renovations to the pool,
installed in the 1970s, scoreboards, lighting, public restrooms and
storage.
The group agreed that district facilities should be made available
for community use whenever possible.
Installation of a turf field at the high school would cost an
estimated $1.7 million. The turf would need to be replaced in 10 to
12 years, but with infrastructure in place, the replacement cost
would be about half the original price, said Brad Martin of Martin
Victory Products of Kent, a turf manufacturer’s representative.
The high cost of installing a turf field would be offset in the
long run by lower maintenance costs, said Kathleen Simpson of
Fields Today, Fit Tomorrow. Her nonprofit group is coordinating
with area sports clubs, local governments and other groups on the
installation of turf fields throughout the county.
The annual maintenance cost on the grass field at the high school
is $23,000. A turf field costs about $5,000 per year to
maintain.
Turf fields present revenue opportunities, Simpson said. Her
low-use estimate for one field would be about $57,000 in income for
the district per year.
Fields Today, Fit Tomorrow had a hand in the
recently opened fields at Battle Point Park on Bainbridge
Island. The Bainbridge fields were built despite opposition
from a group called Plastic Fields ForNever whose members link
artificial turf to lead poisoning, cancer, skin burns and
injuries.
Sigurdson said he hadn’t heard of environmental or disease hazards
of turf fields. Injuries were a problem in the early days of the
technology, but substrate, made of ground up tires, provides a more
natural playing surface, he said.

The facilities task force will meet monthly. The public is
welcome. The next meeting is 6 p.m. Dec. 7. For information,
contact South Kitsap High School Athletic Director Ed Santos at
(360) 874-5736 or santosjr@skitsap.wednet.edu.

Take the poll on the blog homepage: Does South Kitsap need a
turf field?